Search form

China News

US-China rivalry heats up as leaders trade barbs, with Xi Jinping hitting out at ‘America First’ protectionismLeaders from 21 Asia-Pacific nations battled to paper over gaping differences after a sharp exchange of words between the United States and China at the annual Apec gathering.The summit in Papua New Guinea has been overshadowed by speeches from China’s president, Xi Jinping, and the US vice-president, Mike Pence, that appeared to represent competing bids for regional leadership.

Ibrahim Mohamed Solih says country’s financial situation ‘precarious’ after racking up huge debt with BeijingThe new president of the Maldives has declared the state coffers to have been looted and warned that the country is in financial difficulty after racking up debt with Chinese lenders in an infrastructure boom.The island nation is the latest in a number of small countries where China has invested millions of dollars building highways and housing as part of its “belt and road” initiative.

The joint facility, which will host more warships in the Pacific, comes at a time of concern about rising Chinese influenceAmerica will partner with Australia to develop the Lombrum naval base on Manus Island, telegraphing a strategic commitment to the region at a time of concern about rising Chinese influence.The joint facility, which crowds out an aspiration by Beijing to develop the port, was first unveiled by Scott Morrison and his PNG...

The “America First” policy of U.S. President Donald Trump was savaged by every world leader taking the stage at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Papua New Guinea (PNG) on Saturday, who together launched a stern defense of free trade and condemnation of the escalating trade war between Beijing and Washington.
Trump’s name was never mentioned, but it was no secret who was being addressed by representatives of the 21 Asia-Pacific economies. First, Malaysia’s 93-year-old Prime Minister...

Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad warns economic integration leaving many behind but Australia, China and Russia condemn protectionismFault lines were quick to emerge over the future of free trade as leaders gathered for the Asia-Pacific summit on Saturday, with some calling for radical change while others argued for a return to the status quo on globalisation.Speaking at the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) summit in Papua New Guinea, the Malaysian prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, warned that globalisation was leaving some people behind and fuelling inequality.

Papua New Guinea hosts leaders from Pacific Rim countries, including the United States, Russia and China, this weekend in a coming-out party for the jungle-clad nation that is regarded as one of the world's last frontiers for trade and investment.

(SEOUL) — The withdrawal of a major international aid organization threatens to leave tens of thousands of tuberculosis patients in North Korea without the medication they need and could spiral into a severe crisis if it is not addressed soon, according to health experts familiar with the situation in the North.
The dwindling stockpile of crucial medications follows the abrupt departure of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, an international aid organization whose grants to North Korea supported the treatment of 120,000 TB patients last year. Its support...

(SEOUL, South Korea) — North Korea said Friday that it will deport an American citizen it detained one month ago for illegally entering the country.
The announcement suggests that North Korea still intends to improve ties with the United States despite stalled nuclear diplomacy. In the past, North Korean often held American citizens it arrested for similar charges for months before high-profile U.S. figures travelled to Pyongyang to secure their freedom.
In May, North Korea released three American detainees in a goodwill gesture weeks before leader Kim Jong Un’s summit with...

A bishop who has resisted demands to join China's Communist Party-controlled church body has been taken into custody, a Catholic news service reported, despite recent moves by Beijing and the Holy See toward reconciliation.

Anne-Marie Brady has had her home and office burgled and now says mechanic found unusual defectsNew Zealand police are investigating claims that Anne-Marie Brady, a prominent academic and critic of China’s influence abroad, has been targeted again, this time having her car sabotaged.Brady, an expert in Chinese politics at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, had her home and office burgled in February, with computers, mobile phones and USB sticks targeted. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said...

The global supply of oil might be about to shrink, and prices rise. Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister announced on Nov. 11 the kingdom would cut its oil production by 500,000 barrels per day in December. In the same month, the 15 nations that make up OPEC will likely confirm a coordinated move to push prices higher. Add the imposition of U.S. sanctions on Iran’s oil exports that came into force on Nov. 5, lower production in crisis-plagued Venezuela and the risk that unrest may lower production in places like Libya and Nigeria, and oil could be set for a rebound.

On a 6,000-mile bicycle journey along the Silk Road, the author explored the notion of wildness – the Earth’s and her ownWhen Kate Harris was a child, her Pony Club instructor told her: “Throw your heart over the fence, and the rest of you will follow. Hopefully the horse and saddle, too.” A decade later, Harris would recall this advice on a moonless night in western China, as she and her friend Mel Yule were riding – on bicycles, not ponies – towards Tibet. Dressed in black with tape over their reflectors, the pair were attempting to slip through the checkpoint undetected to avoid paying...